1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to golf equipment and accessories. More specifically, the present invention relates to a portable device for cleaning golf equipment.
2. Description of Related Art
Despite the ever increasing availability of high-tech golfing accessories, a common problem still remains: the difficulty of maintaining clean equipment, such as golf balls, shoes, and clubs, while playing golf. Golf balls are designed to have dimpled surfaces, which accumulate dirt, sand, mud or other particulates during play. Many players wear golf shoes with cleats or spikes, which further compound the accumulation of grass, dirt, mud and debris on the shoes. Golf clubs include various parts which are prone to collecting dirt or debris, including the grip, the shaft and the club head. For example, grooves in club heads, which grip the ball during impact and impart backspin on the ball when struck, often clog with dirt or debris, rendering the grooves ineffective. Due to the playing environment and the designs utilized for golfballs, shoes and clubs, it is a constant struggle for golfers to maintain clean equipment.
It is well known in the art that clean golf clubs hit truer, clean golf balls fly straighter, and clean golf shoes provide more stability. As a result, many different devices have been developed for cleaning golf accessories and equipment. Design problems in current devices, however, present several disadvantages that are overcome by the present invention.
Many current devices require users to manually scrub equipment with a hand-held device such as a hand-held brush. Such devices may be carried on a golf bag or on a golfer's person. Golfers, however, already carry a great deal of gear and prefer not to carry additional items such as a cleaning brush. Plus, such hand-held devices are easy to misplace, ineffective for removing stubborn debris, and require users to vigorously scrub the device against the equipment to clean the equipment.
Other current devices are known which are designed to mount to personal automobiles. Since automobiles are used for many purposes other than transportation to and from the golf course, it is not practical or desirable to mount cleaning devices for golf equipment to a personal automobile. Furthermore, players need to be able to clean golf equipment while on the golf course. It would be impractical, inconvenient and time-consuming to lug dirty equipment to the player's automobile, in the golf course parking lot, for cleaning between each hole.
In the past, country clubs understood this problem and responded by installing freestanding blocks on the golf course grounds with mounted brushes for cleaning purposes. In recent years, however, many country clubs have eliminated this amenity due to the associated costs.
Still other devices are known which are designed to mount to a wheel on a golf cart. Design flaws in such devices, however, present several disadvantages. Such a device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2009/0152857 by Easley. Due to the configuration of Easley's device and the attachment mechanism utilized, Easley's device is difficult to attach to a wheel and even more difficult to detach from the wheel, e.g., for storage, cleaning, maintenance, or other purposes. Easley's device utilizes U-bolts, which have a threaded portion and a hook portion, along with nuts (e.g., acorn nuts, wing nuts, etc.) which are received on the threaded portion of the bolt, to attach the device to the spokes of a wheel. The U-shaped portions of the U-bolts loop around the spokes of the wheel for coupling the device to the wheel. This attachment mechanism is time-consuming, inefficient, inconvenient, and insecure. The U-bolts fail to provide the tight and secure attachment required for the cleaning device to operate effectively when mounted to a golf cart wheel. Insecure attachment to the wheel decreases the effectiveness and the cleaning power of the device and makes the device ineffective for removing stubborn debris.
Moreover, Easley's device utilizes a block, having a flat rear surface connected to a flat front surface by side surfaces, for attachment of bristles or other cleaning elements. U-bolts pass transversely through the front surface and the rear surface of the block to couple the device to the spokes of a wheel. The rear surface of Easley's device further complicates secure attachment of the device to a wheel, as the flat rear surface is disposed adjacent to the wheel hub and wheel spokes when the device is attached to a wheel. This flat rear surface must be attached to a flat surface on the wheel in order for the device to be securely attached to the wheel. However, the hub and the spokes of golf cart wheels oftentimes form an uneven surface (e.g., the hub often protrudes from the center of the wheel and the spokes often slope downwardly from where they attach to the hub to where they attach to the rim of the wheel). Therefore, the face of the wheel generally does not provide a flat surface for attaching Easley's device. As a result, the flat rear surface of Easley's device, which is disposed adjacent to the face of the wheel when the device is attached to the wheel, interferes with attachment to the many different configurations of wheels used on golf carts.
Currently, a need exists for a golf equipment cleaning device that is portable, yet does not require the golfer to carry the device on the golfer's bag or person. A cleaning device is needed that is not easily misplaced, that is effective for removing stubborn debris, and that does not require the user to vigorously scrub the device against the user's equipment to remove debris. A device is needed that can be used to clean a player's golf clubs while the player is progressing from hole to hole on a golf course. Additionally, a device is needed that is releasably attachable to a wheel on a golf cart or the like and that provides for a quick, secure, easy and convenient attachment mechanism. An attachment mechanism for such a cleaning device is needed that is able to withstand the force exerted on the device when a user rubs golf equipment against the cleaning device for removal of debris.
In view of the foregoing, it is apparent that a need exists in the art for a golf equipment cleaning device which overcomes, mitigates or solves the above problems in the art. It is a purpose of this invention to fulfill this and other needs in the art which will become more apparent to the skilled artisan once given the following disclosure.